Bigotry

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF LUKE

BIGOTRY

Luke 9:49-50

49 "Master," said John, "we saw a man driving out demons in your name and we tried to stop him, because he is not one of us." 50 "Do not stop him," Jesus said, "for whoever is not against you is for you." 

NIV

This serves to illuminate a rather important life lesson for us today. This attitude of John reveals a certain amount of bigotry. This man who was driving out demons surely must  have had the power of God resting on him, otherwise the demons would not recognize his authority and leave the possessed person. He might well have been one of John the Baptists disciples who John had told to go follow Jesus, but after spending some time in the party of followers retired back to his own village, but still believed, had faith and was under the influence of the Spirit of God. The point John was trying to make was the same point Joshua was trying to make to Moses years ago when he was reporting that two man who were still in the camp were prophesying and he wanted Moses to stop them, because they were not part of Moses's leadership team. The lesson here is that we might have this same kind of attitude or bigotry toward differing denominational beliefs. We are the ones who have the truth, the rest just don’t get it. If you are not one of us, then you are not saved. If you are not one of us, you just are missing the truth. Jesus told John that just because this man was not in the current party of close followers, it did not mean that he was not about the business of God. Just because someone belongs to another denomination does not mean they are set against us, or our beliefs and we should not be against them or any of their beliefs. This is  not to say that those who are merely religious but do not practice the truth of God in their lives are necessarily in the same camp as us, but at the same time they are also not set against destroying any evidence of God in our society. If people are doing something for others in the name of God, it should not matter which denomination they fellowship with, as long as they are worshipping God in their service to others. It is those who have rejected God, and want to demolish any evidence of him from the public square who are against us. We need to see the truth of banning together as the Body of Christ rather than allowing this bigotry within to divide us and destroy us and the work of God.